the liberal avenger emailed me this article from slate about the frustrations of learning arabic.
we arabic students all feel that we've gotten ourselves into something that is mind-bendingly difficult. and so, naturally, we all like to complain about it to our friends and loved ones. but we're not really complaining--i actually enjoy the challenge of studying such a difficult language--we're looking for sympathy. and yet, as i get deeper and deeper into my studies, it gets more and more complicated to complain about my woes to anyone who is not already familiar with the language. just laying the groundwork for my complaint sometimes requires detailed explanations of how arabic grammar works, to build up to the new complication that is the subject of my latest complaint. usually before i get there, i can tell by the blank expression of mrs. noz's face (and make no mistake, she's the one who gets the brunt of my sympathy-fishing), that i have lost her somewhere along the way
anyway, go read the slate article, keep in mind that it only mentions a small fraction of my woes, and then come back here and give me the sympathy i deserve. i've earned it dammit.
